Charleston and Savannah

So, we've finally got the pictures uploaded from our much needed vacation to Charleston and savannah.  This trip began the day after tax day and consisted of relaxing, eating, and just not working the entire time.

When we arrived in Charleston, we checked in at the bed and breakfast and then quickly headed out to see the town.  We had a delicious southern lunch at Poogan's Porch.  I would definitely recommend this place for lunch in Charleston.  It is well worth the wait!

Then we decided to hop on a carriage ride and have a guided tour around the City.  And let me tell you, this City is beautiful!!  We took alot of pictures of the hosues.  They are amazing and remind me a lot of Mobile.

This is our tour guide and the horse that escorted us around.

After the tour, we decided to walk around the city a little before heading back to the bed and breakfast.  We found this gorgeous fountain and rainbow road!

Needless to say, we I was exhausted!  I was not used to walking around this much since I had been pregnant.  I mean, I was carrying around like 10 extra pounds than I was used to.  So, we took a nap before heading to dinner that night. Oh, by the end of this trip, that 10 pounds quickly grew to several more!!!  Watch out!

The next day, we woke up pretty early since we didn't have a very late night.  I also found out that being pregnant while on vacation means early nights in.  Apparantly, there is not much to do at night after dinner that doesn't involve alcohol :)

After a delicious breakfast made by the cooks at the Bed and Breakfast, we drove to Magnolia Plantation.  This was pretty much an old house on a lot of land.  Lucky for us, there was petting zoo! 

This deer followed Erol around the WHOLE time we were in the petting zoo.  I think she had a little crush on him :)

I fed the goat...

He was a little scary.

Then, we walked around the plantation's gardens. 

We found this albino peacock in the gardens.  Isn't it beautiful??  Pictures do not do it any justice.



After another nap at our B&B, we headed out for dinner to the Isle of Palms Island.  We dined at the Boat House Inn which was recommended to us by several people.  And now I know why!  It was delicious!  But before dinner, we walked the beaches of South Carolina.  I loved this part of our trip because the scenery reminded me of almost all of Pat Conroy's books.  And if you've ever read one (and i've read them all), you know what I mean.

Just a note... this is me at 20 weeks or so.  My belly about doubled in size since we left Birmingham.  It was all the good food I was eating!!



After dinner, we went back to the B&B so we could get a good nights rest before we headed to Savannah.  Some people have asked us if we liked staying in a Bed and Breakfast.  We loved it!  Our room was very quiet and the people who worked there were very nice!  It was also nice walking downstairs every morning to coffee and a homemade breakfast.  We were the youngest people to stay there by about 30 years, but everyone was friendly and talkative.  Maybe we will save our next B&B stay for when baby wallace is in highschool... or college :)

On Saturday, we headed to Savannah for one night.  And I thought that Charleston looked a little like Mobile... wow!  Savannah was Mobile in Georgia!!  However, Savannah was more beautiful with SO much more to do!  We walked around the squares and the River Walk.

I found out one thing about Savannah... this is a drinking town!  Everyone was drinking around the whole town!  Well, everyone but this pregnant lady :)  There were bars on every corner and in between!  I felt a little left out so I splurged and got an ice cream cone while Erol drank a beer.  Dangerous!

Saturday night, we went to a wonderful local restaurant called the Olde Pink House.  If you are ever in Savannah, you MUST go to this restaurant.  It is a very old house that has a great story to it.  We sat in the basement part of the restaurant that was lit by candles and had a piano man in the corner.  It was very romantic!  On top of the very cool, Savnnah-like atmosphere, the food was wonderful!  I will go back every time I go Savannah! YUMMY!

After dinner, we hopped in the back of a pedi-cab.  This is a taxi in which you sit in a two seater carriage while one person pulls you around town on a bike.  It was so much fun and the weather was so nice that night!  Our pedi-cab driver drove us around town for about 20 minutes giving us his best attempt at a little tour.  Here is a picture of a house we took along the way...

We had such a great time in Charleston and Savannah.  This was my first time in both cities and I loved them both for totally different reasons!  I can not wait to go back for another visit.  Maybe next time I won't be carrying around a baby in my belly...



Countdown!!

Okay, Okay... I know it has been a awhile since I've last blogged.  You must forgive me as tax season was here and I had no time for anything to do with my personal life. 

Here's an update:

We have been so busy with work that we have already spread our great news... We are having a Baby BOY!!!!!  We were sooo thrilled to find out that it was boy.  I had myself convinced that it was a girl but secretly, I wanted a baby boy.  I was so happy to find out that it was a boy that I cried every time I thought about it for the entire day!

We do not have a name for our little boy yet, but there has been discussion.  I will let you know when we come up with one.  We also do not have a crib, clothes, bottles, or anything for him yet so now that tax season is ending, I better start planning!

So the countdown begins...

Five days until TAX DAY!! Which means I get my weekends and my life back!  This tax season has been rough on the whole family this year. Can't even talk about it...

Six days until we pack up the car for our babymoon.  We are heading to Charleston via Augusta next Wedneday night.  We will spend Thursday and Friday night in Charleston and then drive to Savannah on Saturday for one night.  I am SO excited to finally get out of town and have an adventure.  I have been wanting to go to Charleston for about 10 years now.  So, for Christmas, Erol put together this little vacation for us!

Three weeks until our first beach trip.  I look forward to just relaxing on the beach and doing nothing. All day.

Ten weeks until the first day of summer.  Which doesn't really mean much except that summer time is awesome :)

Twenty weeks until sweet baby Wallace arrives! I can't believe that it's already half way over.  I can't say that it has all been fun and games but I am looking forward to the second half of this journey to motherhood.  And I know Erol is getting very anxious to meet our little man as well.

Now, I will end by giving some much needed praise to my wonderful husband.  Erol has been the MOST supportive, MOST understanding husband that ever lived during the last few months.  He has endured sleepless nights, dinners made of peanut butter crackers or cereal, dirty clothes, and the moaning and groaning of a pregnant wife for about 16 weeks now.  He is truly amazing and I am so thankful that he chose ME for his wife.  He is my best friend and a blessing in my life.



Sorry to end on a cheesy note, but it needed to be said.  I better get back to finishing tax returns and planning our Charleston/Savannah trip.  I will be sure to let you know how it goes!!

28 Weeks To Go!!!

So as most of you know we are expecting our first BABY this year!!!  The official due date is September 4th!!! I am now 12 weeks pregnant today, so that's 28 more to go!

Why have I not posted this great news yet?  Well, I would say, that I have been feeling a little "under the weather" for about 6 or 7 weeks now.  When I think about being pregnant, I get sick.  When I eat, I get sick.  When I don't eat, I get sick.  When I work, I get sick and when I don't work, I get sick!  So, needless to say I've been holding off blogging about it so I wouldn't get sick.  Mission failed because I feel a little nausea coming on as I type this.  Blah!

I went to my 12 week doctor's appointment today and he gave me some medicine to help with the pain.  I hope this sucker kicks in soon because mommy-to-be is getting sick of this... literally.

We will be finding out the sex of our precious baby on April 3rd!  I think that Erol wants a boy but I know if it's a girl, he will be wrapped around her little finger.  But, we will have to wait and see!!

Until then, I will just be busy doing tax returns and dreaming about the days when feeling good was the norm.  I will try to keep you all updated on the progress of our baby as much as I can.  Erol and I are really looking forward to this wonderful journey we are about to embark! We better hold on tight, because it may be a bumpy ride!!

Fourteen and counting!

Since Christmas, we have had an exciting few weeks.  We went to the beach for a long weekend over the New Year's Holiday.  There, we spent time relaxing and hanging out with friends.  My best friend from Boston, Annie, came in town on Thursday night to see us!  It was so good catching up with her again!  Please move back???!!!

Coming back from the beach was really hard this time.  We knew what was coming.... BUSY season (aka tax season).  January 1st is so bitter-sweet.  We are excited about what the new year will bring us but we are also dreading busy season.  No more weekends to relax on the couch.  No more leaving work at a decent time.  No more fun!

But, what was TRULY the most fun part of the new year was...

Number 14 Baby!!

We had a great time watching it with friends.  At first, we were all pretty tense.  We were just waiting for LSU to make a big play and be back in the game.  But NO!!!  How dare I underestimate our defense and the best coach in college football!! How dare I...?

So, once again we are back to planning for a busy time at work.  Sorry friends if you never see for a while.  Just wait until April 15th...

Bedsole-Wallace Christmas

I cannot believe that another Christmas has come and went.  I love Christmas time and I look foward to it every year for many reasons.  The reason on the top of my list is the time that I spend with family.  This was Erol and I's 4th Christmas as a married couple (i think 8th all time) and it gets better every year!

We traveled on Thursday to Daphne, Alabama through pouring rain and tornado warnings.  I thought I was going to die only once or twice. The things we do for family! We spent all weekend and more with our families.  It was so much fun to see everyone and celebrate another year together!

On Christmas Eve, we visited with Erol's grandparents and went to Mass. After Mass we had a wonderful dinner with my parents, brother, sister in-law, and Erol's mom at my parents house.  The dinner included a salad, steak, lobster, and twice baked potatoes.  My parents really out did themselves as usual. 

After dinner, we opened our gifts to each other.  As with every year, our parents bought us too much!  But, we are so thankful for everything!

Look at all those gifts!

Erol is really happy about his gift card!

These are my gifts...  So many of them!

The newlyweds

The not-so newlyweds

Of course, we didn't forget about AnnaBelle!  She had a present to open too!

On Christmas Day, we had breakfast and coffee with my parents before heading over to Erol's Aunt and Uncle's house.  There, we had lunch, played many games and had a great time!  It is so great to get everyone together again.

That night, we had "poker night" at my parents with our neighbors, the Mockels.  Erol showed off his new poker chips set and his poker skills.  Needless to say, we were exhausted! 

I hope that everyone had as great of a Christmas as we did!  I can't believe another year is gone but I am looking forward to what 2012 will bring!

Since I last posted on here, there has been a lot going on!  Thanksgiving came and went as we were super busy with family, shopping, a baby shower, and football.  What else can you cram into a holiday, huh?  Craziness.

On Thanksgiving, we had the whole family over to our house for lunch.  We had a crowd of about 12, I think.  This is not what I am used to, that's for sure!  The food was great and we had plenty of places for everyone to sit. Phew!

The Friday after Thanksgiving was good bonding time for the ladies in our family.  We woke up at 5:00 a.m. (and I am not exaggerating) to hit the shopping mall by 6:00.  We met my aunt, Rebecca, there and boy does she like a bargain!  We shopped until about 2:00 that afternoon and crashed on the couch for the rest of the day and night.  Everyone always asks me if it is truly worth it and my answer is always... "Not really" haha!  But it's a tradition. And that tradition will continue...

Then, on the following Saturday, we started our day hosting a baby shower at The Club for my cousin, Claire, and her new baby boy on the way, Sam Nolan.  We had about 18 people there.  The food was great and the view was even more amazing.  Here are some pictures I took (or stole from Claire's blog :)

The mommy with her 2 year old daughter, Delaney



That afternoon, we had to rush home to watch the much anticipated Iron Bowl which ended very well for the Crimson Tide!  The whole family watched it at our house and celebrated our victory!

Thanksgiving was a lot of fun and exhausting at the same time.  I can't believe another Thanksgiving has come and gone and that Christmas is just right around the corner!  I need to get to shopping... AGAIN!

Update!

Well, the past two weeks have been busy but I just can't see to remember what we have been doing!  November is flying by and I can't believe Thanksgiving is next week!

I just wanted to give you a quick update on what's been going on... We have mourned the loss of the Game of the Century as well as our first (and only) playoff game for kickball.  Losing is not fun AT ALL!  But we will hold our head up high and continue on...

The next two weeks are going to be filled with family, food, and more football! Oh, and shopping! If you know the women in our family, then you will know that we will be starting our Christmas shopping at around 3:00 in the morning the day after Thanksgiving.  If you were planning on shopping for some deals, then you better get to the stores before we do!

I am also throwing in a baby shower for cousin, Claire, in between all the excitement!  I promise to take pictures of everything this time :)

We wish everyone the best and Happiest Thanksgiving!  Eat and sleep all you can and be sure to shop till you drop!  I know I will...

5K, Wedding, and Kickball

Since our New York trip two weeks ago, we have been juggling our busy schedule with my first 5k run, a wedding in Pensacola, and Kickball.  I know that you have re-read the previous sentence because you did not believe what you read the first time.  I ran my very first 5k two Saturdays ago!  I was forced persuaded to do it by my husband since it was a benefit for an organization that he is on the junior board.  I did not train hardly at all because I first signed up to do the "One Mile Fun Run."  Then, I found out that I was the only one signed up for it.  Haha!  I decided to forego the fun run and just run/walk the 5k.  Luckily, my mother-in-law also signed up for it so I was able to have a walking buddy.

I had to walk up the VERY steep mountain that was on the trail. Can you see it?  :)

I finished with a record time of 40 minutes! No judging by the crazy runners....



I still had a lot of fun and I'm glad that I did it.  Maybe I will start running more.  Maybe not... TBD.

Last weekend, we went to Pensacola for some friends of ours.  The wedding was beautiful!  I forgot my camera in the car so I had to steal  borrow some from their photographer's website.

The happy couple

This is the only proof that I have that we were there.  You have to look really hard but me and Erol are in the left-hand corner behind the guy with the goofy smile.  Do you see us?



I can't remember if I mentioned this or not, but Erol and I are on a kickball team!  Well, I didn't actually sign up for it but I have been summoned to play every game since every team has to have four girls on the team in order to play a game.  When girls can't show up, I play.  I didn't sign up with Erol because I think the last time I played kickball was in the 4th grade.  I did not want to embarrass myself.  But, we are having a BLAST playing every week.  For a girl who didn't even sign up for this, I sure do get competitive at times.

This Thursday is our last "regular" season kickball game.  I think if we win, then we go to playoffs next week.  Yes... there are playoffs for kickball.  Wish us luck!

After our big game on Thursday, we will be getting mentally prepared for the Game Of The Century on Saturday at 7:00. Only 3 days, 7 hours, and 40 minutes until Alabama vs. LSU kickoff.  But, who's counting?

ROLL TIDE!

Taking a Bite Out of the Big Apple

This past weekend, we made a quick trip to the City that Never Sleeps... New York City!  It was a great weekend get away that was filled with activities!  We flew in in late Thursday night and stayed in Astoria near the airport since I had a free Marriott night that needed to be used.  We didn't arrive to the hotel until after 10:00 so we just went straight to sleep.  We needed a lot of rest before our busy day in the City on Friday.

Friday morning, we rode the Train into Times Square where our hotel was.  The weather was not very good as it was extremely foggy and cloudy all day.  However, the Intercontinental Hotel was nice and in a great location!  We weren't able to check in right away,  so we dropped off our bags and headed out to explore the town.

Our first stop was Fifth Avenenue, of course!  We walked the streets admiring all the beautiful stores in all their glory!  We went in and out of stores admiring the merchandise. We stopped at Zara, Tiffany's, FAO Schwarz, and many other iconic New York stores.  We walked and walked and walked until we could not walk anymore and needed something to eat.  After a quick bite a nice cafe, we walked to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.



It is a VERY large museum and our legs were already tired from walking before lunch that after an hour or so I started getting a little anxious to move on to our next stop.  But, while at the Museum, we saw some great paintings and sculptures.  I'm glad we went!

After the Museum, we stolled around Central Park.  This was my first time in the Park an I was amazed at how calm and serene it is!  I couldn't believe how quiet it was with all the craziness going on around it!  It was truly a beautiful park.

At the end of our journey through Central Park, we stopped by the John Lennon "Imagine" Memorial.

And John Lennon's apartment where he was shot and killed...  

Friday night, we met up with a good friend of mine for dinner and drinks before our show.  It was so good to see Mike in NYC!

We saw the Broadway musical, Memphis after dinner.  It was a really fun and entertaining show.  The actors were really amazing!



After the show we went to Times Square to take some of the usual "tourist" pictures.

Saturday, we started the day with a very tasty complimentary breakfast at our hotel to give us energy to walk the Brooklyn Bridge from Brooklyn to Manhattan.  It was VERY windy on Saturday and a little chilly but the views made it all worth while...

At the end of the Brooklyn Bridge we decided to head to Soho for some more shopping!  I personally LOVED Soho!  There were so many shops that I loved: Michael Kors, Tibi, Scotch & Soda, etc, etc, and etc... We had lunch at a local pizza place called Lambardi's.  The long wait was totally worth it because the pizza was Amazing!

After lunch we headed back to Midtown and stopped by Bryant Park for a nice glass of wine...



And the New York Public library just because...



Saturday night, we went to the Ainsworth bar where the New York City Alabama Alumni Society meet to watch football games.  You wouldn't believe how crowded it was with Alabama Alumni!  I was amazed.  We decided not to stay after waiting in line at the bar for several hours minutes.  I mean, we could do this back in Tuscaloosa and I did NOT want to spend another New York minute in an overly crowded bar.  We still had an hour or so before dinner, so we found a small bar that had one T.V. They changed the channel to the Bama game just for us!  The people at this bar were so friendly that it was hard to leave.  But I was hungry so we went to went to a Tapas restaurant called Boqueria for dinner.  The food was pretty good and the atmosphere was great.

After dinner we went to a very small Jazz Club called Smalls (the name was given for the obvious reason).  I think Erol was in heaven since the lead musician at this club that night was a well-know drummer.  Just after midnight, we headed back to the hotel.  What a fun night we had!



Sunday, we woke up and went to the noon Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral.  This church was absolutely beautiful!  It was packed with Christians from all over the world coming together for Mass.  What a beautiful experience!



Mike met up with us again after Mass for lunch before we had to head to the airport.  We had an amazing weekend in NYC.  Erol and I both thought it was a lot of fun and we vowed to return sooner than later.  I loved how busy the City was at all hours of the day.  It's a great place to visit for a long weekend but I'm very glad to come home to a more quiet, less busy City of Birmingham, Alabama...